243 for target??

[noname]

Whats your thoughts on the 243 for mid range target shooting?

Thinking of building a bull barrel with 8 twist for 100 to 500 yards
paper bullseye shooting....With sightron 36x scope.:confused::confused:

[rjtfroggy]

With the proper bullets 105 Bergers or 107 Sierra's it SHOULD shoot like a laser at right around 3000 fps.
However when you order a barrel order 2 because barrel life will be about 1200-1300 rounds for target shooting, it may still be suitable for hunting.

[jpx2rk]

243's are noted for being barrel burners, but with Savage rifles are noted for easy barrel swaps. Order 2 extras. LOL

[noname]

Appricate your replies..Thats what they said about the 220 swift,but I have close to 2600 thru mine and it still
shoot fine. Gonna get a bull barrel for the 243...Thinking of McGowin as I have used them in the past with
good results..

[rjtfroggy]

Apparently your mind is made up.
From experience, I used one for score comps., straight taper 1:7.5 and at 1200 rounds accuracy started to go away, at 1300 it was good for a hunting barrel but not 1/2" circles at 100 yards. The first 2.5-3" of barrel were toast, the barrel lasted 2 seasons.
Do as you may, but you did ask for opinions do some more research.

[Rob01]

.243 is an excellent long range round. Used one for years in PRS style matches in the mid 2000s but sold that one. I had another .243 added to a switch barrel and still have that one. My original was shooting 115 DTACs at 2995fps and had 1880 rounds on it when I sold it and it was still a sub 1/2 MOA shooter. It had a 7.5 twist but a 7.5-8 twist with the 105-115 bullets will do well to 1000 and then some.

Shot these at 500 yards during a match and the rifle had about 1200 rounds down it at that point.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Rob01/norcal_tbrc08_09.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/Rob01/media/norcal_tbrc08_09.jpg.html)

[noname]

Looks like it was a shooter.I think a lot depends on how the barrel is taken care of..And of course the
powder can make a huge difference..I have been told the 6.5 creedmoor is better,but the one I shot
last year also gave up the ghost at 1600 rounds..And I really don't care for the 6br neither..Appreciate
all your replies..

[Rob01]

I used H4350 for the above .243 and use it with my present one as well. One thing i did do with that rifle was to use the Tubb TMS rounds about every 300 rounds. I would shoot 2-3 of them and then clean. Might have helped.

The 6.5 Creedmoor should have gotten better life than that. That's the lowest I have heard of. My first Creedmoor barrel that was shot hard and fast in matches started going about 2300 rounds. Most are getting around 2500-3000.

[Cmgoff]

Have you considered the 6mm slr? Based off the 243 but has a longer neck and less of a barrel burner.

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[Texas10]

Same bullet, 10-13 grains less powder, 2880 fps=6mmBR. Notoriously effective at 600 yds and very easy to tune.

[Rob01]

Same with the 6 Dasher.

[wbm]

Same with the 6 Dasher.

I would go with the Dasher.

[Robinhood]

The dasher is a lights out cartridge. It has dominated many 1000 yard matches. I am curious about the 6mm Creedmoor. Looks like it might rival the dasher.

[TOP PREDATOR]

i love my .243....with 105 bthp out to 500ish, it's an amazing shooter.

actually using hunting bullet 100 gr spbt, the point of impact and group size is just slightly bigger than the bthp, plus a little more economical to shoot - plus if using the rifle for dual purpose target / hunting using those spbt keeps the same dope.

i used the amaxes, no real substantial gains over either of the above (unless of course you are going benchrest shooting where a 1/8" is huge) until after 500Y.

I'm using H-1000 powder which burns a bit slower and is easier on the throat erosion AKA barrel burning. of course that reduces the full potential out of my .243 by a few hundred FPS, but with the groups i'm getting (3.75" at 425Y) i don't mind adjusting the elevation knob a few more clicks.

i really wish i'd have gone with the .243 years ago, i just started with it about 4 years ago and haven't been nothing than tickled to death with it. very adaptable to plenty of applications, even with off the shelf ammo. if your reloading, it get even better.

the only other short action caliber i'd consider from here on out would be .260 rem or 6.5 Creedmoore

[homefrontsniper]

Dasher / second choice 6 ceedmoor

[Iowa Fox]

I hope the 243 is the right choice. I'll be shooting it again this year.

[MI223]

Nothing wrong with the 243. Sure it is not the new cool kid caliber but mine pushes a 105 about 3030 with h1000 and that is just a mild load. I am hoping for decent barrel life running it that way.

On the other hand i only chose it because I already had dies and brass from a different rifle. If i had to start from scratch it would probably be something different. Bit i never feel handicapped with my 243 and my next barrel will probably be 243 again

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[JASmith]

The 6mm Creedmoor will be hard to beat because it is already set up for long nosed bullets.